The dog days of summer are upon us. Here in the northern hemisphere July has some really hot days. Yesterday (July 9) Phoenix set a record when it hit 118 degrees (but it’s a dry heat). Ol’ sol still climbs way up in the sky and its rays are intense. So, yesterday was indeed a “dog day” of summer for that desert city. Lots of daylight. Plenty of heat.

However! Yesterday was not a long as usual, according to scientists who measure the particulars of Mother Earth spinning on its axis as it orbits along. While the Phoenix area set that heat record, it did so on a day that was not as long as usual. Really.

What’s this, you ask? According to those scientists keeping close watch on our spinning sphere, yesterday it spun around faster than it usually does to complete its standard 24 hour go-around. Seriously.

Did you feel it? It what?, you now ask. Earth spun around yesterday with a little more mojo, clocking its quotidian go-around by 1.3 to 1.6 milliseconds faster than the usual 24 hours. That may not sound like much but it was the shortest day since such modern scientific measuring began. I must admit there were a few moments yesterday when my equilibrium faltered enough to bump against a wall on the way to rid myself of the waste product left over after digestion does its thing (otherwise known as using The Euphemism).

Or was it just a not so infrequent bit of dizziness brought on by having been around for about 27,000 24 hour days, or that many spins of the axis of the planet below my feet? But I digress…

The scientists also have reported that yesterday wasn’t a one-off. Mark your calendars, boys and girls, because on July 22nd and August 5, the daily rotation of this planet will again be shorter by that 1.3-1.6 millisecond measure. How do they postulate these future faster-than-ever spins? It has to do with the moon. “Tidal bulges”. “Gravitational interaction”. Look it up. Or don’t. But you now know what is coming and when. It’s not fake news, it’s science. Go with it.

Therefore, whatever you may have planned for July 22 or August 5 of this year, keep in mind it will be a shorter than usual day. A millisecond here, a millisecond there. It adds up. So maybe make sure that you take care of some business you’ve been putting off for far too long on each of those upcoming “shorties”. You know, some odious matter that becomes drudgery. But you’ll finally get rid of what you have been stalling on for far too long, knowing those two upcoming days will be done before you can say tidal bulge, baby.

You’re welcome.